We are back with our monthly Indie Showcase, where we pick one of the many gems produced by independent game developers and make sure it gets some well-deserved time in the sun. For November, we are taking a closer look at the strategic sequel… For the King II!
What is For the King II?
For the King II is the follow on to tabletop-inspired For the King by IronOak Games and Curve Games. This much-anticipated Indie gem has already garnered critics’ approval, taking the blend of tabletop mechanics and roguelite gameplay to new heights.
Return to the land of Fahrul, where once benevolent Queen Rosomon has formed alliances with sinister forces and turned against her subjects. In either solo or four-player co-op, the fight for freedom has begun.
Utilising the same, iconic hexagonal tabletop style, there are twelve character classes to choose from and extensive customisation options. Each class has unique combat skills and specialities to master in the turn-based fighting system. Skill will only get you so far, though, as your attacks rely on the roll of a dice…
For the King II Review
We were lucky enough to get our hands on a review key for For the King II. As a big fan of the first game, I was a convenient and eager volunteer!
Having played the original, this game played like a beautiful evolution. It retains the core premise, style, and luck-of-the-roll combat but with new facets and developments to master. And I mean “master”, because for all it is similar to the original, there is still a learning curve on how to best deploy your tactics. For me, it was honestly the best of both worlds. A familiar world and mechanics, so I don’t have to learn how to play a new game, but new enough that my playbook has started fresh.
Exploring Fahrul
The best way I can describe this game is “it’s For the King, but more”. The distinct art style remains, but with subtle differences like having multi-level terrain and updated monster designs. Plus, it has the same humour injected into it, through the monsters’ names and armour you can equip. Having my barbarian-esque fighter in a fairy dress will never not amuse me. She looked fly.
My favourite evolution was the combat. A large portion of this game is spent in battle, and I did find that after a certain point in For the King it was very easy to dominate in combat. (Conveniently forgetting I was just as bad when I first started playing that game, too!) You equip good enough weapons and armour, and you can breeze through each fight. In For the King II, there are more layers to the fight than just hitting with your best move.
First of all, you’re in teams of up to four now. Adding that one extra player adjusts the gameplay more than I originally anticipated. It’s going to take a few play throughs to get the right balance of magic, support, and power – which I am excited to do! The other main difference is you have a two by four grid to conduct battle in, as do the monsters. This adds movement, foes two rows deep, protection mechanics, and new multi-target attacks. My main tactic was “hit as many targets as possible”, so I had great fun exploring all these new attacks.
Final Thoughts
It feels like I have barely scratched the surface with what For the King II has to offer. From quality-of-life improvements to undiscovered lore, there is much of Fahrul to discover! Frankly, I am here for the journey. I am looking forward to sinking many an hour into this game, perfecting my character class combos, unlocking the funniest hats, and finding just what is hidden beneath the clouds. There is a campaign to conquer, and I will keep trying!
For the King II System Specifications
There are five narratively linked adventures to conquer in For the King II. Is your gaming PC ready for the adventure? Here are the official specifications:
| Component | Minimum Specs | Recommended Specs |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-4670K AMD FX-8350 | Intel Core i7-6700K AMD Ryzen 5 1500X |
| Memory | 8GB RAM | 16GB RAM |
| Graphics | GeForce GTX 960 4GB Radeon RX 550 4GB | GeForce RTX 2060 Super 8GB Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB |
| Storage | 7GB available space | 7GB available space |
| Additional Notes | SSD recommended |
Best Gaming PCs to Play For the King II
The required specs on For the King II are very accessible. At Overclockers UK, we have plenty of gaming PCs and laptops fit to serve you on your quest for freedom.
Refract Gaming Jade Pre-Built PC
Recently refreshed with the latest hardware, the Refract Gaming Jade will be an excellent companion for exploring Fahrul. This pre-built gaming PC has been engineered with cherry-picked hardware to facilitate the best in 1080p and 1440p gaming. The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 CPU harnesses the power of Zen 4 architecture, providing streamlined performance in single and multi-threaded tasks. Bringing your quest to life, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GPU utilises enhanced RT and Tensor cores to render all your favourite Indie gems in photo realistic quality. Plus, with 32GB DDR5 RAM and high-speed SSD storage, you can game with near zero-latency and super-quick loading screens.
Best of all, as part of our range of pre-built PCs, the Refract Gaming Jade is fully assembled, tested, and ready to ship with next day delivery (stock and season allowing). What’s more, it comes with three years parts and labour warranty as standard, to provide you with that extra piece of mind. Sadly, your benevolent ruler succumbing to the chaos is not covered…
Gigabyte AORUS 16X Gaming Laptop
Take your journey through Fahrul on the go, with the Gigabyte AORUS 16X. This gaming laptop has been optimised for mobile gaming and is packed with all the hardware you need to master turn-based combat. The Intel Core i7-13650HX CPU utilises advanced hybrid core architecture. Innovative P- and E-cores are intelligently managed by Intel Thread Director, which assigns the best cores for the workload at hand. For immersive gaming, this laptop has an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU and QHD display with a 165Hz refresh rate. The perfect pair for high resolution gaming with smooth frame rates.
To keep your cool in the heat of battle, the Gigabyte AORUS 16X is equipped with exclusive WINDFORCE Infinity cooling technology. This thermal hardware has been optimised for efficient cooling, even in the thinner chassis, keeping your CPU and GPU performing their best.
OcUK Gaming Vulture Configurable PC
Protect Fahrul from Queen Rosomon with the very best in AMD hardware. The OcUK Gaming Vulture features an AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processor and Radeon RX 7000 GPU, letting you harness the power of Zen 4 and RDNA 3 in all your gaming, creative, and professional endeavours. Plus, the DDR5 RAM kits come with AMD EXPO, a simple to use memory overclocking program that helps you to get the very best from your gaming PC.
What’s more, the OcUK Gaming Vulture is one of our configurable gaming PCs, where you can adjust the base spec from a pre-selected list of hardware to best suit your needs. Customise the CPU, memory, GPU, operating system, and choose up to three high-speed SSDs. You can even add a lightbox for all your RGB needs! Please note that any changes to the spec will affect the price.
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PC specs are subject to change.
- 7 min read
Emily Haylock
Author
Emily is a board and cosy gamer, keyboard obsessive, and content copywriter for Overclockers UK. She has been with Overclockers UK since 2020, writing about everything from noblechairs to 8Pack PCs. She writes from within her desk nest with a foster pup at her feet. (What, a desk duvet is a totally normal thing!) In her downtime, she likes to play board games, farming sims, and old-school Final Fantasy. IX to be specific. It is the best, and that is a hill she will die on.
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